Roder gets a lump sum, council talks parking
The Northfield City Council meets tonight at 7 o’clock. One item on the Consent Agenda requires no action but is notice to Council that $25,000 will be paid to former City Administrator, Al Roder. A final severance agreement with Roder was approved by the City Council in August of 2008. The payment was contingent on whether charges would be filed against him in the case of former Mayor Lee Lansing. Goodhue County Attorney, Stephen Betcher, informed the city that he does not have sufficient evidence to prosecute Roder. However, Roder will have to testify in regard to the ongoing case against Lansing. During the regular meeting there are only 2 items. An update from Hiawathaland’s Amy Ripinski on the transfer of transit service and a report from the downtown parking committee. Councilors Buckheit and Nakasian have met with downtown business groups and staff. They’ll present options for short term parking and discuss long term solutions. You can view the options on the City’s website under City Council packet. The meeting will be streamed live online at kymnradio.net.
MMR takes place of AYP
The devil is in the details. That’s how Superintendent Dr. Chris Richardson explains the new measuring tool to define student progress in schools. Minnesota received a waiver from the No Child Left Behind act and now they have to fine tune a new way to measure progress. The Minnesota Department of Education has come up with a very complicated process that involves 3 measurements. They are how proficient students are now, how they’ve grown and how well the kids who don’t normally test well are doing in comparison. While this new tool looks at more ways for growth its extremely hard to explain. The 3 measurements are then collapsed into a single score called an MMR. MMR stands for Multiple Measurements Rating. Each individual school has a score, not just the district. They just received the MMR data for this year’s school year. The good news is that none of the school buildings in Northfield were labeled “priority” or “focused”, which in NCLB terms means “needs improvement”. This new tool does recognize high performing schools with terms such as “reward schools” and “celebration eligible schools”, meaning they’re in the top 15% or just below. Bridgewater was given a “Reward” status and Greenvale Park was given “Celebration Eligible” status. Title One schools are those that serve a certain percentage of free and reduced lunches and are the only ones awarded a title for performance. The Department of Education will continue to tweak MMR.
Rice County urges residents to pre-register to vote
Rice County is urging residents to pre-register to vote in Novembers election. While you can register to vote on Election Day, pre-registration speeds up the process. You must be 18, have or will be living in the precinct you’re registering in for at least 20 days prior to election and show proof of residency. Pre-registration continues through October 16th. Voter registration applications are available at Northfield City Hall.
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